An assay involves the testing and examination of sample material to determine its composition and the quality of its ingredients. In the case of metals and ores it is sometimes necessary that the assay be done on site where the metal or the ore is located. In any event, the assay is preferably accomplished quickly, accurately and efficiently.
Heretofore, preparing an assay of an ore/mineral sample in real time has been quite labor intensive and has been limited by several operational considerations such as sampling and detection limitations. In general, it is first necessary to crush the ore/mineral into particles for bulk processing. Samples of the crushed material are then retrieved. Next, the samples are analyzed. As a practical matter, the specifics for a bulk analysis of samples are varied and can be quite different. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,151,632 for a “Method for defining element content and/or mineral content” discloses a mineral separation process in which a sample of crushed particles is bulk analyzed using a grain size analysis operation.
In the event, all ore/mineral assays have, as their primary objective, a determination of the mineral composition in the ore sample and its quality. The present invention, however, recognizes that a bulk analysis of ore/mineral samples for this purpose can be cumbersome, destructive and expensive. Further, the present invention recognizes that an analysis of an ore/mineral sample on a particle-by-particle basis provides for more precise measurements and more accurate results.
With the above in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device and method for separating particles according to their composition, wherein each individual particle in a sample is individually evaluated and categorized, on a particle-by-particle basis, for an assay of the particles. Another object of the present invention is to provide a device and method for separating particles according to their composition, which pneumatically transports and separates the particles during processing. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a device for separating particles according to their composition which is easy to manufacture, is simple to use and is comparatively cost effective.